For all the noise about the skills etc I’m really enjoying seeing this Comp take shape and seeing these kinds of people become leaders. 

Speaking to a number of organisations who have associations with the woman’s team they have nothing but praise for every one of the players and the investment of their time into a) the game but also b) the community and c) charities. 

 

Is it strange that to me Mel Hickey just really 'looks like a footballer', more than most around her?

(hits google) Here's an old image from 2016 that makes the point for me; there she is, the only one in the shot with the poise, the concentration, and even the visible hardness that you'd associate with AFL.

Cover over the rest of it and just have Hickey, and what you'd be looking at is a standard AFL promo image.